


Derpy's Dark Days

by midnightwolfGX



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 07:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12744147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightwolfGX/pseuds/midnightwolfGX
Summary: Derpy Hooves, upset from being bullied by everypony, vows to leave Ponyville. But she changes her mind after discovering a disembodied Unicorn horn that houses a mysterious spirit. Derpy is grateful for the help the spirit gives, but being unaware of its possible ulterior motive, ends up getting a little more than she bargained for...





	1. The Worst Day

**Author's Note:**

> THIS STORY IS OLD! I simply imported my work from FanFiction.net.

It was just another day of mail carrying in Ponyville for Derpy Hooves. It was the same every time; she would clock in, fly the same set routes, deliver mail, take her lunch break, fly the next route, deliver the next set of mail, clock out, and repeat.

Of course, being klutzy as she is, Derpy was quite prone to making mistakes often. On occasion, she had delivered the wrong mail, gotten lost, lost some letters in the wind, and some other mistakes that always got her an earful from everypony. Because of this, Derpy's self-esteem had dropped considerably, and she suffered insomnia due to intermittent onsets of depression.

Derpy hoped that things would go alright soon... she wanted to show everyone that she was a good pony.

She had reached her first stop. She pulled the letters addressed to this location out of her rucksack, and tried slipping them into the mailbox through the slot. But they were not fitting through. She tried pressing harder, but still no luck.

"Ngh... why don't they make these slots bigger?" Derpy complained to herself.

It was then that she pressed the letters with all her might against the mailbox, hoping that they would slide through. But the mailbox's beam bent backwards, and when Derpy began to feel her strength deplete...

_THWACK._

The mailbox slipped from her forehooves and hit her in the face, sending her flying a ways away.

"WOOOOOAAAAAH...!" Derpy shrieked as she flew through the air.

Just when she tried to spread her wings to orient herself properly, she fell into the fountain in Ponyville's central plaza. She stood and shook her head to get the water out of her mane as best as she could. She glanced down at the rucksack, which was now under the water, and her eyes went wide and her pupils shrunk.

"Uh-oh..." Derpy said.

Several ponies who happened to be passing by all crowded around the fountain to see what Derpy was doing. At that moment, Parcel Post came up to see what the commotion was.

"Ms. Ditzy Doo!" He said. "The Ponyville Fountain isn't your personal swimming pool! You need to be _working_ , not playing around with—"

His eyes shown a look of sheer horror as he saw Derpy's letter rucksack under the water.

"THE LETTERS YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DELIVER!" Parcel cried. "THEY'RE ALL SOAKING WET!"

More ponies, hearing this, crowded around the fountain, and started shouting at Derpy.

"I was expecting a letter from my cousin in Canterlot!"

"I was sending out family reunion invitations!"

"My paycheck might have been in there!"

Parcel stood there, trying to hold back his rage. His nostrils flaring, his teeth grinding against each other.

"What is _wrong_ with you, Ditzy!?" He scolded. "You decide to put off your job for your own _leisure_!?"

Derpy's looked at the ground. "I-I'm sorry...! I just don't know what went wrong...!"

"Well, you _know_ I need to report this to Captain Express!" Parcel said.

Derpy's heart skipped a beat. If Captain Express were to hear about this... who knows what could happen? Nothing good, that was for sure.

Derpy looked around at the angry faces of all the ponies shouting at her over the possible loss of their mail. Her eyes began to well with tears, but she forced back her crying... and proceeded to head back to the post office with her head hung low, preparing herself for her imminent doom...

(XXXX)

"So, Ms. Doo," Captain Express sternly said to Derpy in his office. "Mr. Post tells me you lost the mail you were carrying in the fountain."

"Y-yes..." Derpy choked out, timidly shuffling her hooves.

"And I'm sure you are aware of how vital the postal service is to Equestria." Captain Express said. "Do you have _any_ idea how serious this is?"

"I'm sorry..." Derpy said. "...I didn't mean to!"

Captain Express put his hooves to his face with his elbows on his desk, shaking his head. "Well, given the detriment you have caused the Ponyville Post Office, I'm afraid you have left me no other choice, Ms. Doo."

Derpy's pulse kicked in, and she was sweating bullets.

"I'm going to have to put you on suspension for two months... without pay." Captain Express said.

In that moment, Derpy held an expression of unbreakable shock. Suspension without pay... she could not even believe all of this was happening.

"I'll need you to hand in your uniform, and sign something real quick..." Captain Express said.

(XXXX)

Shortly after the process, Derpy left the Post Office, tears running down her face. And then, she broke into a run back to her house, shielding her face with one hoof and struggling to hold back her sobs. Several ponies were clearly still angry at her, as they all shouted at her as she rushed by.

"Crying? Yeah, you should be! I can't believe how STUPID you are, losing our mail!"

"You're so RETARDED, I honestly can't believe the Postal Service would actually hire you!"

"I'm honestly _embarrassed_ to be the same _species_ as you! You are so OFFENSIVE to Ponykind!"

Derpy ran until she collapsed in an alleyway. She buried her face under her hooves and cried.

"...Th-this..." Derpy sniffled. "...this is... th-the worst... d-d-day of my... l-life...!"

It was a little while later that Doctor Whooves was randomly passing by, and happened to spot Derpy in the alleyway. He rushed over and noticed she was crying.

"Derpy?" He asked. "What ever is the matter?"

Derpy looked up. "It... it's just _awful_ , Doc! I screw _everything_ up!"

"Oh, come now, Derpy!" Doctor Whooves said reassuringly. "You need not dwell on the negatives! If you are knocked down, stand back up and keep trying!"

"B-but... how can I... when _everything_ keeps ending in failure for me...?" Derpy asked.

"Um... well... that is..." Doctor Whooves trailed off. He didn't know how to go about this; telling a pony to be more confident, when they were failing over and over, was simply horrible advice.

"...I just... w-wanna be alone...!" Derpy said as she stood and ran off. "I don't wanna m-m-mess up anything else t-today...!"

"Derpy! Wait!" Doctor Whooves called out to no avail. "I-I was also wondering if your daughter, Dinky, was aware of your predicament!"

"I DON'T HAVE A DAUGHTER!" Derpy called back.

The stallion stood for a moment, pondering. "Peculiar... Derpy struggles with tasks on a regular basis... but what happened this time to set her off so badly...?"

(XXXX)

Twilight Sparkle was walking down a street on Ponyville with Spike on her back; she was checking up on her friends to make sure their everyday tasks were up to speed so she could report it back to Princess Celestia.

"Well, Spike, looks like we're all caught up for the week!" Twilight said. "Got it all written in the letter to the Princess?"

"Yep!" Spike said, holding the quill he was using up.

At that moment, the two of them were startled to hear loud crying getting closer. Then they saw Derpy rounding a corner and rushing past them with one hoof covering her face as she ran.

"What the...?" Spike said.

"Derpy!" Twilight called out. "What's wrong?"

Derpy kept running, as if she didn't hear Twilight.

"Huh... Ditzy musta _really_ messed up this time!" Spike said.

"Spike, that's not nice." Twilight said. "Derpy looked pretty upset... I think we should go and see what's wrong with her."

Spike pondered for a moment. "She probably won't wanna talk, what with all that crying and stuff. Think we should give her some time?" he asked.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the ground. "Okay, we'll wait for her to calm down."

(XXXX)

Derpy made it back to her house, and spent hours crying her eyes out into her pillow. The sun began to set on the western horizon.

Being the "different" pony that she was, Derpy regularly put up with harassment, scolding, and overall bullying from other ponies. It did not help her feel good in the least bit, and, if anything, made her feel worse than the last time it happens...

...but poor Derpy has finally been pushed to her breaking point.

"I can't do this anymore..." Derpy said to herself, sitting up and looking out the window. "...I'm going away! I'm gonna leave Ponyville forever! As Celestia is my witness, I'll go somewhere that I am accepted!"

Derpy started packing a few things she would need into a fairly large satchel: food, water, her diary, some pencils, a sharpener, and some of the remaining Bits she had. And then she was out the door almost immediately.

"Well, this is it. Goodbye, everypony... forever! Derpy Hooves is out of your lives for good!" Derpy said as she looked back over her shoulder at the town.

She started along the path that lead through the Open Lands, and all the while, got to thinking...

"What if..." Derpy said to herself. "...what if the same thing ends up happening _again_!?"

Derpy had not considered the fact that her clumsiness and strange eyes made several of the ponies in Ponyville hate her so much. It's possible that she could end up trying the patience of others as well, even though she never means to.

"I... I just don't know what to do with myself anymore...!" Derpy said as she started tearing up again. "...M-maybe... maybe I... r-r-really _am_ w-worthless...! I... r-ruin _everything_!" N-n-nopony... will want to... be anywhere n- _near_ me...!"

Derpy had indeed hit rock bottom. Nopony in Ponyville, or maybe even Equestria would want to be on her side, she assumed. She had to go somewhere where she could get support and be able to make a living. Anything remotely satisfactory in comparison to Ponyville would be welcome, but Derpy just did not know where to turn, or where she could go without anypony getting mad at her just for who she was.

She needed help... she _desperately_ needed help...


	2. Signs of Hope

Derpy slowly walked along the path, her head hung low, ears angled down, and her mane and tail blowing in the light breeze.

"Why do these things have to happen to me...?" Derpy asked herself. "...I was just made for _suffering_ , wasn't I?"

As she continued to walk, Derpy happened to spot a glint of light out of the edge of her peripheral vision. She looked to her left and noticed an object in the long grass off to the side of the path. Curious, she walked over to have a look. The object was a narrow, curved conical thing, which faded from charcoal-gray to scarlet at its point. It had quite a high level of luster, very sleek-looking. It looked like some sort of polished cut stone.

"Ooh..." Derpy said, lightening up from her sorrow a little bit. "...it's pretty."

She slowly reached out to pick it up, but as soon as she lightly touched it, the sunset-lit environment around her transformed into a dark landscape with the sound of a metallic bang. The sound of thousands of whispers filled the air.

Derpy looked around in shock.

The area behind her, she noticed, was being pulled into some sort of vortex. She tried to rush away, but it caught up to her. She expected to start falling, but she was simply turned onto her side and fell only two feet. The landscape was spiraling rapidly. She blinked briefly, and when she opened her eyes, she saw a blurred, reddened image of the Ponyville schoolhouse, where she saw her younger filly self a little distance away, surrounded by a group of other colts and fillies.

"Ha!" one filly whooped. "Ditzy's so clumsy that she can't even catch the ball that's thrown five feet away from her!"

Derpy stood back up as she watched the third-person flashback.

"Ditzy's eye's are all _wrong_!" a colt laughed at filly Derpy. "I bet her mother made her stupid!"

Filly Derpy cowered by hiding the lower half of her face with her hooves, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Ditzy is retarded! Ditzy is retarded!" all of the school ponies sang in unison as filly Derpy started crying uncontrollably.

Mare Derpy started hyperventilating as she began to run the other way. Immediately, she found herself in medieval Canterlot. She saw Princess Celestia banishing Nightmare Moon.

"NOOOOOOOOO...!" Nightmare Moon bellowed as she was engulfed in a field of light that was shot straight towards the moon.

Derpy shut her eyes tight.

" _Derpy..._ " a deep voice suddenly said, sounding very distant.

Derpy opened her eyes to find herself on a cloud hovering a little ways underneath Cloudsdale. She saw a multicolored blur rush past her, straight downward. It was Rainbow Dash. After plunging for a little while, there suddenly came a deep boom, followed by an expanding circle of rainbow colors; the Sonic Rainboom.

Confused, and somewhat scared as to what could possibly be happening, Derpy hastily tried to fly away, but found that she suddenly couldn't move her wings, and started plunging.

"AAAAAAAAAAH! HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" Derpy called out.

Suddenly, she was caught, by none other than...

"Rainbow Dash!" Derpy said happily.

Rainbow Dash smiled at her. Derpy closed her eyes as a huge grin filled her face.

"Thank you for saving me! I don't know what's going on, but I—" Derpy stopped speaking as the area had changed yet again.

She was now being carried by, not a rainbow Pegasus, but by the current of a river in Everfree Forest. Looking behind her in the direction of the current, Derpy noticed she was heading right for a waterfall. She shrieked and tried to paddle away from it in panic to no avail. She fell a long way into a lake below, and was washed up on the bank.

Sitting up, Derpy noticed some Timberwolves surrounding her. They were growling and drooling. Derpy was frantically looking for any way to escape the Timberwolves before they could make a meal of her. Suddenly, floating behind the carnivorous creatures on some sort of rippling carpet was Zecora. But she had three pairs of forelegs stacked on top of each other, each one doing a different Medium-related activity.

"Driven out of your place, you are. All because you bear no lucky star." Zecora sang to a strange drumbeat coming from nowhere. "Derpy Hooves is a new exile, for she must now endure the cruel and vile..."

The Timberwolves closed in on Derpy, and she covered her face with her hooves in fear.

"Please!" Derpy shouted. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Suddenly, everything was silent. Derpy opened her eyes, and found just an empty void.

"H-hello...?" Derpy said.

" _Ah, a new hoof touches my horn._ " came a deep, masculine, godlike voice.

Derpy's eyes went wide. "Who... who are you?" she asked.

" _Be not frightened, Derpy Hooves,_ " the voice said. " _I mean you no harm._ "

"...How do you know my name?" Derpy asked.

The voice chuckled a bit. " _I have read your heart, Ditzy Doo..._ "

"Um, just 'Derpy' is fine..." Derpy said.

" _...and I can tell that you are quite lost. Perhaps in more ways than one?_ " the voice said.

"Yes..." Derpy said sadly. "...everypony's mad at me, but it's worse than usual! Today was the worst day ever for me!"

" _Indeed..._ " the voice said. " _...and do you know why that could be?_ "

Derpy thought for a moment. "...Because I'm a loser?" she suggested as she hung her head down sadly.

" _...Because you lack_ power _._ " the voice answered. " _It is only power through which ponykind has ever achieved_ any _success. And that is why I intend to help you._ "

"Help _me_?" Derpy asked. "Why would anypony want to help me? They all think I'm worthless..." she felt a lump in her throat as she said this.

" _But, under my guidance, I can give you the power that you could use to ultimately change your life for the better. Power to rival even that of Star Swirl the Bearded!_ " the voice said with great excitement.

"And... what would this power do to change my life?" Derpy asked.

" _Well, if you were to use it correctly... you would never be miserable again._ " the voice stated. " _And you_ are _miserable, aren't you, Derpy?_ "

Derpy hung her head down. "Yeah, I am..." she briefly trailed off. "...okay, mister! I want to learn from you and get this power!"

" _But there is a catch..._ " the voice interjected. _"...in exchange for my knowledge, you will need to do_ exactly _what I ask of you. My magic will be of aid to you in the tasks should they be too overwhelming for your own skills._ "

Derpy swallowed. "You want me to do things for you...?" she asked.

" _Precisely._ " the voice answered. " _Think of it as a new job... as I am well aware you have lost one not long ago. And the rewards will be_ much _greater than mere Bits._ "

"Ooh! As in one _million_ Bits!?" Derpy asked, excitedly.

" _Even better than that..._ " the voice went on.

Derpy was starting to become overjoyed by the offer, which drowned out her depression from earlier in the day.

"Oh, I will do whatever you want!" Derpy said. "As long as it helps for things to go better for me, I'll do it!"

"... _That's what I wanted to hear._ " the voice said, sounding very satisfied.

"So... who are you, anyway?" Derpy asked.

The voice paused for a moment before answering: " _You may call me... Arbmos._ "

"Arbmos..." Derpy repeated. "...huh, weird name."

" _And now, Derpy Hooves, take the horn that was once upon my head, and use it to my instruction. Only then shall it bring you the happiness you desire._ " Arbmos said.

"Your horn?" Derpy asked just before remembering the strange object she found. "Wait, that thing on the ground... was your _horn_?"

" _Yes._ " Arbmos answered. " _When I was still living in the mortal world, I was a Unicorn. My soul now exists in an ethereal state inside of the horn._ "

"Weird..." Derpy said.

" _And now, Derpy..._ " Arbmos said. " _...awaken!_ "

Derpy blinked repeatedly to find that she was back in the field at sunset, still standing in the same spot she had been for the past few minutes.

"Woah... that was really weird." Derpy said to herself.

" _Ah, but we still have yet to begin, my dear._ " Arbmos said in Derpy's head.

"Huh? Arbmos?" Derpy said. "Where are you?"

" _You need not look around, for I am simply speaking in your mind._ " Arbmos stated. " _And now, it is time to put our plan forth. From this night onward, you shall not have to endure pain and suffering from anypony... so long as you do as I ask of you._ "

"Okay!" Derpy said. "Let's start this!"

" _Place the flat end of my horn on the center of your forehead..._ " Arbmos instructed. " _...and I shall have it merge with you to become part of your anatomy._ "

"Wait, wait, wait..." Derpy said. "...you're going to turn me into an _Alicorn_?"

" _Yes, indeed I will._ " Arbmos said. " _Only through Unicorn magic can you achieve the power you need to do this._ "

Derpy was excited yet again. She was going to have a horn! She could use magic! She would basically be a _goddess_ compared to all other ponies.

"Okay!" Derpy said, lifting the disembodied horn, and putting in on her forehead.

" _Now, be wary... this may cause a bit of a pain._ " Arbmos warned.

"Huh? What?" Derpy asked before suddenly the horn began to emit a bright light at its base.

Derpy began to hover a few feet above the ground. A burning hot sensation spread from her forehead throughout her body, growing more intense. It felt like a magnifying glass was focusing sunlight onto her forehead, burning it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Derpy cried.

After a few more moments, the horn's glow faded, and was now part of Derpy's skull.

Derpy Hooves was now an Alicorn.

She slowly drifted back down to the ground, where she lay unconscious from the intense magic that merged the Unicorn horn with her.


	3. Derpy's New Horn

Slowly, Derpy began to wake up. She blinked repeatedly as her eyes swapped direction they were facing each time she closed them.

"Ugh... my head..." Derpy said as she stood up. "Huh... what a dream... some voice in my head? Wanting to help me? I guess I'm more depressed than I thought..."

It was only now that Derpy began to notice her surroundings. She was in the Open Lands, a ways beyond the outskirts of Ponyville, and it was already dark out; the moon was high overhead. Derpy found her satchel somehow fell off her back.

"Wait... what am I doing out here!?" She said before gasping. "N-no way... you mean..."

Slowly, she raised her hoof to touch her forehead... and just as she was about to touch it...

"H-h-horn!?" Derpy stammered, feeling the pointed object on her forehead.

She rushed over to a stream nearby and looked at her reflection in the moonlight. Though it was dim, she could easily make out a horn on her forehead, curving upwards and fading from dark gray to red at the tip.

"S-so... it wasn't... a d-dream..." Derpy said. "...I'm an... _Alicorn_..."

Smirking, Derpy glanced over at a rock sitting on the ground nearby.

"Hmm... I've always wanted to try this..." she said as she walked over to the rock.

She examined the rock briefly before she focused, with all her might, her energy to her forehead. She couldn't get anything to happen at first. Panting for a moment, she tried again. The horn flickered the same gold color of her eyes, as did the rock at less frequent intervals, but she still couldn't get it to budge.

"Aw... I can't do it." Derpy said sadly.

" _But of course you can, Derpy._ " came a heavenly male voice in Derpy's head that she instantly recognized.

"Arbmos!" Derpy said.

" _You simply need a little nudge..._ " Arbmos said.

Immediately, Derpy's new horn glowed gold for a brief moment before turning crimson. The rock glowed the same color and levitated. It moved up, down, and sideways for a moment before it was set back into its place. Derpy got a feel for how it worked, though she was not actually the one doing it.

" _...Now you try._ " Arbmos instructed.

Recalling the same feel that Arbmos created when he levitated the stone, Derpy did the same, the horn glowing gold again as the rock did the same, and it slowly floated off the ground, hovering a few inches in the air.

Derpy gasped. "I-I did it...!" she said proudly.

" _Very good, Derpy._ " Arbmos said. " _You know how to use basic magic. I shall continue to instruct you on more advanced magic as time passes, and for specific situations._ "

"Awww..." Derpy sighed. "...why can't I learn it now?"

" _Because it is_ far _too complex for a beginner._ " Arbmos said.

"Oh." Derpy said before she yawned. "Well, I'm getting sleepy. I think I'll go home now."

" _Very well._ " Arbmos said. " _You will need your rest._ "

"But... wait." Derpy said. "How am I gonna explain the horn to the other ponies?"

Arbmos chuckled. " _That will not be a problem at all. I've spent my time learning complex magic, and managed to learn how to perform Invisibility Spells, as well how to use magic to affect the horn itself. So, by doing both those at once..._ "

"...I can hide the horn?" Derpy finished.

" _Yes_." Arbmos said. " _In fact, since you lack experience, I shall do it for you..._ "

The horn glowed crimson for a moment, before it vanished. Derpy reached up at felt for it; she could feel it, but it was now invisible.

Derpy's eyes widened in amazement. "Oh, cool! So I can use magic, and nopony will know it's me!" she giggled.

" _That's correct._ " Arbmos said. " _The best way to use magic... is to ensure no one else knows you are using it._ "

"Ah, okay." Derpy said. "Well, anyways, I'm just gonna head back. I know that I vowed to never go back, but now that you're helping me, Arbmos, I think I'll give everypony a second chance."

" _Yes, excellent..._ " Arbmos said. " _...and once I let you know it is alright... do pay a visit to a certain purple Alicorn._ "

"Purple Alicorn... oh! Twilight Sparkle?" Derpy said. "I'd be happy to introduce you to her... at least, if you were to, um... show up?"

" _Oh, I_ will _most definitely show up..._ " Arbmos said.

Without saying too much more, Derpy picked up her satchel and return to Ponyville. She went back to her house and readied herself to go to sleep in her bed, but before she did, she got out her pencil and diary and sat at the desk in her room.

Holding the pencil in her mouth, she wrote an entry in her diary:

_Dear Diary,_

_I had just about the worst day of my life today, and I had been put on suspension from my job without pay. Needless to say, paying the bills and buying food would be difficult... but things have changed for the better._

_I met a pony... or somepony who use to be a pony... talking to me in my head, who wants to help me out. Sounds crazy, I know, but I know that I can't be dreaming. I don't know why all of this is even happening to begin with... but I don't want to question it._

_The voice in my head, whose horn is now on my head, Arbmos, is gonna give me power that I need to win the respect that I deserve! I have to do things for him, but I know it will be okay. He seems friendly enough. He turned me into an Alicorn. I think I can trust him; why else would he do all this for me?_

_Anyways, it's getting late, and I'm tired. I'll get back to you later._

_-Derpy._

After finishing the entry, Derpy put her diary away and climbed into her bed. She shut off the light and pulled herself under the sheets of her bed.

"Ahhh..." Derpy sighed. "...I know things'll get better from here on out."


	4. Starting off Simple

The following day, Derpy woke up to the light of Celestia raising the sun. She yawned as she stretched her forelegs and wings.

"Oh... that was the craziest dream." Derpy said. "Wonder what that was all about... I think I should head out for a nice morning flight to clear my head."

With that, Derpy walked out her door, and took off. She flew at a moderate pace, about the speed Fluttershy would typically fly if she was if she was in a daring mood. Even then, it wasn't too fast. She was enjoying herself... up until she happened to catch the attention of some ponies below.

"Whaddya think _you're_ doin'?" a Unicorn mare called up at her. "Out to cause more trouble, huh?"

"You've got _some nerve_ showing your face after what you did!" an Earth Pony stallion shouted.

Derpy gasped; she had forgotten all about what happened yesterday. Several of the ponies shouting at her forced her to relive her terrible time yesterday.

Almost immediately, tears welled in Derpy's eyes, and she flew off back to her house, crying all the way, at a speed that would definitely rival Rainbow Dash. She slammed the door behind her, sniffling and tears falling to the floor.

"I-I need a muffin..." Derpy whimpered. "...the one thing... th-that never lets me down..."

She laid on her bed, crying like she had been yesterday.

Some time later, the Mane Six, including Spike, had all shown up on Derpy's front yard after Twilight Sparkle had informed all of them about Derpy's meltdown that she witnessed yesterday.

Twilight knocked on the door. "Derpy? Are you okay?" she asked through the door.

"If you're here to scold me, JUST GO AWAY!" Derpy cried from her room.

Twilight looked a little worried, and so she stepped back. Rarity walked up to the door next.

"Oh, come now, darling. I'm positive that we are able to help you through the turmoil that has been forced upon you." Rarity said reassuringly.

"YOU'RE JUST SAYING THAT!" Derpy bellowed.

Rarity raised a brow. "My, my... Ditzy is really sounding much like I would." she remarked.

The group decided to enter Derpy's house, despite her protests, just to see what they could do.

"Aw, buck up, Sugarcube." Applejack said. "It's gonna be okay."

"NO, IT'S NOT!" Derpy said as she continued to cry.

Fluttershy shuffled her hooves a bit. "Um... Derpy, would you... like to come with us and... do something to take your mind off whatever's making you upset?" she suggested. "I-I mean... if you want to..."

"NO, I DON'T WANNA!" Derpy stated. "I'm not leaving my house, EVER!"

"C'mon, Derpy!" Rainbow Dash chimed in. "Ya can't just coop yourself up in here! We all love ya! We don't want you to trap yourself in a hole!"

"You're lying!" Derpy cried.

"Pleeeease, Derpy?" Pinkie Pie asked, just before she started trying to drag Derpy out of her bed by her hind legs. "Everypony wants to see your happy, smiley, li'l face—"

"I _don't_ have a _smiley face_!" Derpy said as she squirmed around to free herself from Pinkie's grasp.

She walrused herself back over to her pillow and re-buried her face.

"Yes you do, silly!" Pinkie responded.

"Um, okay girls." Twilight said. "Clearly, Derpy needs more time until she's ready to talk."

Reluctantly, all of the Mane Six left Derpy's home.

Derpy lay crying on her bed, still very much shaken up by the sudden comeback of events from yesterday. She didn't want to believe that it all happened. She wanted somepony... _anypony_ to be on her side.

" _Why do you weep, my dear?_ " came a voice in Derpy's head. " _Your day has only just begun._ "

"A-Arbmos...!" Derpy said. "...They are all still angry at me... all of them..."

" _And now comes the time to change that, Derpy._ " Arbmos said. " _Head out and show everypony who dares oppose you who is_ truly _the one with power._ "

Feeling confident once more, Derpy stopped crying and stood herself up. "Y-you're right! I'll do it!" she said.

Immediately, Derpy was out the door. She set off to find her former boss, Captain Express, hopefully to try and be able to change his mind about a few things.

She found him eating at Cafe Hay, along with Parcel Post. It was Sunday, so they obviously had the day off.

"I still find it hard to imagine why Ditzy would submit herself to such clumsiness." Captain Express said.

"Oh, I'm sure it is unintentional..." Parcel said. "...because that wall-eyed, spineless jellyfish of a mare has the attention span of a housefly!"

Both of them chuckled. This hurt Derpy very much, she thought she would cry again.

" _Do not submit yourself to weakness, Derpy._ " Arbmos said. " _You must show them what they deserve... and I shall give you the knowledge to use magic to your liking on them._ "

Derpy took a few breaths to pull herself together. "O-okay... I'm ready." she said.

After waiting for the two to depart from the cafe, Derpy decided to catch up to them as they walked, talking to each other about some random crap that Derpy didn't care about.

"Ahem..." Derpy spoke up.

The two postal stallions stopped and turned around to see her. Both of their faces fell at the sight of her.

"Just what do you wish to put upon us this time, Ms. Doo?" Captain Express asked. "You are still on suspension! I am not giving you your job back for quite some time!"

"I really do not want to be in the presence of somepony who has such a level of carelessness!" Parcel Post remarked.

Derpy shuffled her hooves a little bit. "Yeah... about that..." she said, remembering what she had to do. She focused energy in her new invisible horn, and caused Captain Express' eyes to glow gold for a moment as his expression became indifferent. "...maybe you'd be willing to... cut me a bit of slack? Doesn't have to be a second chance, but still... _anything_ would be nice."

Captain Express' eyes went back to normal, and he smiled. "Why, of course, Ms. Doo. I do not know what I was thinking when I did what I did yesterday. Most of the mail we recovered from your accident was, more or less, salvageable. With an afternoon's worth of work, we can create copies of the letters that were soaked, and get them all sent out again. With that being, I've decided to halve your suspension time, and give it with pay." he said.

Parcel Post's jaw dropped. "WHAT!? You can't do that! She completely messed up! Her punishment was fine how it was! She's STUPID!" he retaliated. "And Ditzy... what was that yellowish glow over your forehead that I just saw? What the hay is going on with you?"

"Y'know, Parcel..." Derpy said, focusing her Alicorn power at Parcel, causing his own eyes to glow the same color as the glow around Derpy's hidden horn; he was now also locked in a trance. "...I think you haven't gotten enough sleep. This is a nightmare; you've dosed off on the job, and you gotta wake up soon to get back to work."

Parcel's eyes were still glowing for a bit, but his eyelids began to slowly fall, as it looked like Parcel was getting tired. After a few seconds, he collapsed on the ground, snoring.

"Oh, dear." Captain Express said. "Looks like Parcel hasn't been caring enough to get his rest lately. I'll have to write him up for that!"

With that, Captain Express rushed off. Derpy, now feeling a bit satisfied, went on her merry way.

" _Well done, Derpy._ " Arbmos said in Derpy's head. " _You've taken the first step at utilizing magical thought manipulation; a weak form of mind-control. And your first sleeping spell was quite decent._ "

"Thanks, Arbmos!" Derpy said. "I'm really glad I found your horn!"

_So am I, my dear..._ Arbmos thought.

It was a little bit later that Derpy ran into Twilight Sparkle.

"Oh, Derpy!" Twilight said. "You finally feeling better?"

Derpy nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Oh, good! So, what helped you to perk up so quick?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, see... I actually sorta... met somepony who helped me with my problems." Derpy said.

Twilight raised a brow. "Oh, really? Who might that be? Where are they?" she asked.

Derpy shuffled her hooves. "Well, you won't find them... he doesn't have a body." she said.

"Doesn't have a body...?" Twilight asked. "What does that mean?"

"Well..." Derpy began. "...he talks to me... in my brain."

"So..." Twilight began. "...some kind of spirit or something?"

Derpy nodded. "Yep!"

"Okay, well, when did you first notice that this... spirit began to communicate with you?" Twilight asked.

"Well... I found this weird Unicorn horn sitting out somewhere in the Open Lands, and when I touched it, that's when he started speaking to me." Derpy answered.

"A horn... huh..." Twilight pondered.

"Oh, and his name's Arbmos." Derpy said. "He said that he was a Unicorn when he was alive. He's teaching me about magic, and he's really nice to me, and—"

"But Derpy, you can't use magic; you're a Pegasus." Twilight pointed out. "You've got no horn."

Derpy's eyes widened after realizing what she said. "Oh, right... well, he's just _telling_ me about it, just because I'm curious."

"I don't know what you've been up to, Derpy..." Twilight commented. "...but if I were you, I would cut down on... whatever weird thing it is that you're consuming."

Derpy hung her head down. "Okay... maybe I've just been going a little crazy or something. I think I'll head home now."

Derpy began to head off, but Twilight stopped her for a moment.

"But, before you go, Derpy..." Twilight began. "...would you mind telling me the name of this spirit again?"

"Yes, it's 'Arbmos'." Derpy said, before flying off again. "I'll see you later, Twilight."

"Arbmos..." Twilight muttered to herself. "...Arbmos... hmmm... in all my years of studying Equestria and the supernatural, I've never heard of any Arbmos. And a disembodied horn... I can't seem to recall anything like that, other than the horn of Star Swirl the Bearded being kept by the sages at the Starfall Temple."

Twilight sat where she was for a few moments, before returning to reality and to resume what she had been doing.

"Guess I'll try to look into this a bit later..." she said before wandering back off into Ponyville.

* * *


	5. Infiltration

Derpy had been at her house until the dusk hours of the day, binging on her favorite muffins, lemon surprise, which she felt in the mood for baking after her little success with her coworkers.

" _Now, Derpy, I must ask you for a favor... as part of the exchange of my knowledge to give you._ " Arbmos said.

"Sure." Derpy said. "What do you need me to do?"

" _After nightfall, I will need you to go to the Canterlot Archives, and take some of the books in the restricted wing._ " Arbmos instructed.

"The Canterlot Archives?" Derpy asked. "But they don't allow anypony in there other than Princess Celestia and her students! How can I do that?"

" _Do not fret, my dear._ " Arbmos said. " _Like I said before, my magic shall come of use to you should the situation be too much for you. Complete this task, and I shall transfer a portion of my knowledge of magic into your memory so that you can use it of your own will, rather than relying on me._ "

Derpy was a bit hesitant; if she willingly did what Arbmos was asking, she could end up getting caught and in a lot of trouble... but if she didn't, then Arbmos wouldn't help her out with her problems. Even then, when compared to dealing with ponies who hated her simply for who she was... the Canterlot guards catching her didn't seem so bad. And if there was little chance of it even happening...

"Okay... but will you be able to make it so I won't get caught?" Derpy asked.

" _Absolutely..._ " Arbmos responded. " _...modern Equestrian security, as I have seen in my spiritual projections, is_ very _flawed and imperfect. I myself could slip past the guards in my sleep. As for the books... I need the Book of Unity, the Book of Influence, and the Book of Superiority._ "

"Unity... Influence... and Superiority..." Derpy repeated just to remember. "...okay, got it!"

" _And now... it is time to go._ " Arbmos said before the horn started to glow red.

After a moment, accompanied by a blinding strobe, Derpy found herself just outside of the Canterlot Archives building.

"Woah, that was crazy!" Derpy said. "What happened?"

" _A regular teleportation spell._ " Arbmos said. " _Now, go and fetch me those books I requested. I shall help you should you encounter any guards who interfere._ "

"Okay!" Derpy said.

With that, she headed inside the the building through an open window. Walking down the hallway, Derpy saw no guards as of yet.

"So... you said they're in the restricted wing, Arbmos?" Derpy asked quietly.

" _That is correct, my dear._ " Arbmos said.

So Derpy set out to locate where the restricted wing was. She happened upon a map on the wall, and saw that it happened to be the second room down the hall from where she currently was.

Once she made it to the room, Derpy began to examine the aisles, starting with "I", which she would follow with "S", and then "U".

"Hm, let's see..." Derpy muttered under her breath. "...Influence... Influence... where's Influence?"

After looking around for a bit...

"Ah, found it!" Derpy said.

Derpy levitated the tome out of its place on the shelf, and held it in front of her with her magic. With a red flash, the book disappeared.

"Woah!" Derpy said. "What was that? Did it just explode?"

" _No, Derpy._ " Arbmos said. " _I have simply materialized it in the realm within my horn in which I currently dwell. I shall do the same for the other books upon your discovery of them._ "

"Oh, okay." Derpy said. "At least I won't have to carry them."

Derpy continued to search for the books she needed to get for Arbmos. She found the Book of Superiority after searching for a bit. Now came the Book of Unity. Derpy looked in the "U" section of the restricted wing, and found the general area that it should be in. She was tapping the books while looking at the titles on the spines, but accidentally knocked a book over as she tried to pry the Book of Unity out from it's place.

The dropped book made a loud hum and emitted a bright light. Quickly, Derpy closed the book, and saw the title as the "Book of Unearthing".

"Who's there!?" Came a voice at the front of the wing.

Derpy's pulse quickened, and she looked over the bookcase to see a lantern light drawing near. The book had indeed _unearthed_ Derpy's presence.

"Ngh... guards coming! Guards coming!" Derpy murmured.

" _Panicking shall do you no good, Derpy_." Arbmos said. " _You need not worry so long as I can still help you..._ "

Immediately after a flash of red light, Derpy noticed her vision had a violet sort of haze.

"What did you do?" Derpy whispered.

" _You are now invisible, my dear._ " Arbmos responded.

"Invisible...?" Derpy asked, holding up her hoof to see that she was translucent with a purplish glow around her. "...But why can I still see myself?"

"I _nvisible beings are capable of seeing themselves. It will be up to you, however, to maintain silence, as it is something that invisibility spells cannot grant you._ " Arbmos said.

With that, Derpy flapped her wings as quietly as she could in order to hover up to the high ceiling. She saw a Unicorn guard patrolling through the aisles below her.

"I know you're here! Nopony can hide from the Canterlot Royal Guard!" the Unicorn said as he scanned through the empty bookcase cavities.

Derpy slowly and carefully tried to fly back down to the entrance to the Archives without the guard hearing anything.

"Show yourself right now!" the guard demanded. "If you wait for me to find you, you'll be in even _worse_ trouble!"

Quickly, Derpy rushed back out the door, and found her way back outside without any guards noticing her.

Arbmos promptly teleported Derpy right back to her house, and restored her visibility.

_Excellent, Derpy._ Arbmos thought to himself. _I knew you could do it through my power... and now that I have these books, it's only a matter of time before I have my second chance to finish what I started..._

(XXXX)

Twilight was up into the light hours of the night, racking her brain and searching through every book she had in her castle's library that seemed most relevant. She set up a chalkboard with big letters in the middle spelling "ARBMOS", along with several lines stemming from it to cross-off or scribbled-out notes.

"Arbmos... Arbmos..." Twilight absently muttered. "...grr, I can't find anything on any Arbmos! I guess Derpy was just hallucinating or dreaming or something..."

Spike came into the room in his pajamas and holding a lit candle. "Ugh... Twilight, would you just go to sleep already?" he asked.

"I can't, Spike!" Twilight said. "Either Derpy's going crazy... or she's discovered a new spirit altogether! I have to rule out any possibilities!"

Spike facepalmed. "Seriously, Twilight. Just try and sleep on it. Is Ditzy really _that_ big of a concern that you have to throw away several hours of your life that you could be spending on solving friendship problems?" he insisted.

Twilight sighed. "...Fine. I'll just stop for tonight." she said.

Spike climbed onto Twilight's back, and she began walking to the staircase back up to her bedroom... and of course, Spike fell asleep on the way, leaning his face against the back of her neck.

_Still, 'Arbmos'..._ Twilight thought. _...when I was looking at that name on the board, I just couldn't help thinking that something about it was familiar. I just can't put my hoof on it..._


	6. Payback to Ponyville

Derpy had acquired Arbmos' knowledge during her night's sleep. Upon waking, she instantly knew about what to do for new types of magic.

"So... today's Monday." Derpy said. "I wonder what I should do today."

" _Mayhaps you should head out and hone your magic skills?_ " Arbmos suggested. " _It never hurts to get some practice in..._ "

"Okay!" Derpy said.

With that, Derpy headed out, looking for things to practice on. The best she could tell, she had gained a stronger sense of mind-control and persuasion. Whom she was going to test it out on, she had no idea, especially since it seemed a little demented.

"I don't know about this..." Derpy said. "...why would I want to control somepony's mind?"

" _You'd be surprised at the..._ amusing _things you can make them do._ " Arbmos said.

Derpy happened to notice that the Ponyville Post Office was up ahead. Parcel Post was outside having a brief word with Captain Express. Knowing what she could make them do from yesterday, she decided to have a quick look.

"Ditzy?" Captain Express said. "What are you doing here?"

Parcel turned his head away very rudely. "I wish not to associate myself with a clumsy, broken _foal_." he said. "You might as well be living with _earthworms_!"

Derpy's eyes widened at the comment... and momentarily glowed green on the sclerae. Almost immediately, she made an evil smile as her invisible horn glowed yellow. Parcel's eyes glowed the same color as he became immobile and emotionless.

"Yeah? Well, you think _you're_ an earthworm, Parcel!" Derpy said very sternly.

The glow in Parcel's eyes went out, and after a moment, half-closed them and began making strange slurred sounds while weirdly moving his jaw. He began squirming on the ground and started eating the grass. Captain Express was in complete shock.

"Ditzy, what ever are you doing?" He asked.

Derpy's horn glowed again as she used mind-control on Captain Express. "You think you're... a lawn sprinkler." she said.

After the glow in his eyes went out, Captain Express held a very blank expression as he began to slowly turn to his left. "Pwp-pwp-pwp-pwp-pwp-pwp-pwp...!" he said while doing this. After a few seconds, he turned to his right a little quicker while going "p-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t...!" and repeating the cycle over and over.

Derpy snickered at the sight of these two buffoons she made look like even _bigger_ idiots. She then went along through Ponyville, feeling absolutely no remorse for what she had done. Instead, she felt _very_ satisfied. Surprisingly, it seemed like mind-control was not all that unethical to her anymore.

It was sometime later that Derpy came across Snips and Snails.

"Ah, Derpy!" Snails said. "We heard you lost the mail and everypony got mad at you."

"Yeah, so we was thinkin' maybe you'd like to join our little outcast alliance?" Snips said.

"Yeah, we provide comfort to each other for our failures in the world." Snails said.

Derpy was about to say one thing, but after the whites of her eyes glowed green for a brief moment, she decided to say something else...

"Oh, that would be nice, but..." she said as her horn glowed, putting both Snips and Snails into a trance. "...you two think you're a pair of..." she smirked. "...sassy backup singer mares!"

After coming out of their trance, Snips and Snails both stood side-by-side, and began to step in sort of a synchronized dance while singing:

" _Ain't got no time for my stal-li-on,_

_Oh, no-no-no, no,_

_Ain't got no time for gen-tle-colts,_

_Oh, no-no-no, nooooooo..._ "

As Derpy walked away from the two now-brainwashed school-age Unicorns chuckling to herself, she happened to spot Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie "Bon Bon" Drops walking up, both of them laughing at Snips and Snails.

"Oh, Derpy-y-y-y!" Lyra said while laughing. "I don't know what you did to those two, but you got 'em _goo-o-o-o-o-o-o-d_!"

"Totally!" Bon Bon said. "Heh heh heh, mind telling us how you were able to make them do that? Ha, ha ha!"

Derpy did not answer; her eyes flashed green again, and she used mind-control once again one the two mares.

"GENTLECOLTS!" Derpy said very sternly to the two. "ARE-YOU-READY-TO-SERVE-UNDER-THE-CANTERLOT-ROYAL-GUARD!?"

Lyra and Bon Bon both held up their forehooves in a salute. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" they both responded simultaneously.

"TIME-TO-GET-YOUR-WORTHLESS-SELVES-INTO-SHAPE!" Derpy said, before raising her hoof and pointing it down. "DROP-AND-GIVE-ME-FIVE-THOUSAND!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Lyra and Bon Bon both said, saluting before setting back their hind legs and started doing pushups. "One! Two! Three! Four! Five...!" they began counting with each one.

As Derpy walked off, she could not help but feel more and more satisfied with each victim she created from the Ponyville residents.

"I think I could get used to this..." Derpy said. "...I can bring everypony who wrongs me to their knees!"

Derpy began to laugh very evilly... and her eyes began to glow a green color in the sclerae once again.

_That's it, my dear..._ Arbmos thought. _...keep honing your skills. You will need them. The more you can adjust your mortal body, the more I will have you under my hoof... and once I have you... heh heh heh._

(XXXX)

Twilight Sparkle was walking through Ponyville to take a break from her work.

"Well, being the Princess of Friendship is no easy task..." She said to herself. "...but I can't let Princess Celestia down!"

After walking for a bit, Twilight happened to notice Parcel Post squirming around in the dirt, appearing to be eating it. Captain Express was rotating back and forth, making strange noises... almost like a sprinkler.

"What the...?" Twilight said to herself.

She used her horn to sense for any magical presence around them. And she found...

"...they're under a spell!" Twilight said.

With that, the Alicorn walked over to them, angled her horn at them, closed her eyes, and made a flash of white light. Immediately, Parcel looked around, and then started spitting out the dirt he was eating in disgust. Captain Express looked confused.

"Huh? What's going on around here?" Captain Express asked.

"Gah! Disgusting!" Parcel said as he wiped his tongue.

"What's going on? What happened?" Twilight asked.

Captain Expressed looked over at Twilight in surprise. "Oh! Princess Twilight! Wait... where's Ditzy? She was here just now..."

"Derpy was around here? When?" Twilight asked.

"Well, let's see... I was given Parcel a few pointers... then Ditzy came up... said something about Parcel thinking he was an earthworm, followed by him doing it..." he paused and closed his eyes. "...I do not remember the rest."

"Hmmm..." Twilight pondered. "...maybe if I find Derpy, she can explain what happened."

With that, Twilight took off in the direction she assumed Derpy went off to.

"Peculiar..." Captain Express said. "...something is rather... off about Ditzy today, more so than usual."

Parcel's stomach groaned. He put his hoof on it.

"Oh, dear..." Parcel said with an ill look on his face. "...I'm gonna chunder!"

With that, he ran towards the nearest bush... and made some straining noises accompanied by a sloshing sound.

(XXXX)

Twilight continued through Ponyville to find Snips and Snails singing and dancing... and Twilight, after listening, realized it was a very feminine song and dance.

"They've had it, too!" Twilight said after sensing the magic on them.

She used the same spell again to free them. They both panted.

"Woah... who knew singing and dancing for fourteen minutes straight could take so much outta ya?" Snips asked.

"I don't know..." Snails responded. "...oh, Twilight!"

"What happened to you two?" Twilight asked.

"Well, Derpy just appeared, told us to act like singing and dancing mares... and we ended up just... doing it, without wanting to do it." Snips said.

"Derpy? _She_ did this?" Twilight asked.

"Guess so..." Snails said.

Twilight immediately ended up with a suspicious look on her face.

"Well, I'd better see if I can catch up with her!" Twilight said, before heading off again. "What the hay is going on? Is Derpy really the one doing all this? She can't use magic!"

A little while later, Twilight found Lyra and Bon Bon doing pushups... very slowly and fatigued-looking.

"...four-hundred ninety-six... four-hundred ninety-seven... four-hundred ninety-eight..." they both said slowly.

Twilight used the counterspell on them, and they both collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"...Wh-why do my... forelegs... feel like... butter...?" Lyra asked.

"...Can't t-talk..." Bon Bon strained. "...s-so much... _pain_..."

"Girls, did Derpy do this?" Twilight asked.

"...Uh-huh..." the two uttered.

"Alright, thanks!" Twilight said, before continuing her on way.

After laying for a little while, Lyra and Bon Bon eventually started to push themselves on their hind legs back in the direction they came **(much like how Sweetie Belle does whenever she's bored)**.

(XXXX)

Twilight arrived at Sugarcube Corner, where she happened to spot Derpy in the window. She went inside to see that Derpy appeared to be making Mr. and Mrs. Cake serve her really high-end pastries and other sweets... all without Derpy paying. Twilight also happened to notice a yellowish glow over Derpy's forehead, as well as the same glow in the Cakes' eyes.

"Prepare me another tray of apple tarts and fifty servings of tiramisu, my servants!" Derpy demanded.

The Cakes bowed to her. "As thou commandeth, Thy Benevolence." Mr. Cake said in a medieval Canterlot accent.

"Oh, and _muffins_! Lemon surprise! A hundred years' worth! Make _that_ the main thing!" Derpy added.

"But of course, Thy Eminence." Mrs. Cake said in the same accent.

"Oh, dear..." Doctor Whooves, who just happened to be inside watching Derpy, said. "...I believe I should be going."

"Yo, doc!" Derpy said, using mind-control on Doctor Whooves. "You think you're a hot, runaway, model mare!"

After coming out of his brief trance, Doctor Whooves started making some very feminine poses.

"Work it... oh, work it... oh yeah!" Doctor Whooves said in a disturbingly seductive tone. He turned his attention to Twilight. "Wanna catch my image...? My good side...?" He said, turning his flank slightly towards her. "...My _great_ side...?" He faced his plot directly at her.

Twilight, with her weird-out meter on overload, hastily rushed off from the brainwashed, posing Doctor Whooves. She walked right up to Derpy.

"Derpy," Twilight began. "what's been going on with you?"

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle!" Derpy began.

Twilight noticed a distinctive green glow in her eyes' sclerae for a brief moment, just as she was about to use the same spell on Twilight. However, the Alicorn was quick to react and put a spell on Derpy that would normally stop Unicorns from using magic. Glowing silver strands covered the invisible horn on Derpy's head.

"Okay, Derpy. In exactly one minute, the Binding Spell I just put on you will break." Twilight said. "And within that time, you will tell me what's going on."

"Okay..." Derpy began. "...but can you keep a secret?"

Twilight nodded. "Alright. What is it?"

"Well..." Derpy began, appearing to lift from her demonic persona she had upon Twilight entering. "...remember when I told you about Arbmos?"

"That spirit in your head? Yeah." Twilight said.

"Well, he's been teaching me about magic... because his horn is on my head!" Derpy said. "He just made it invisible so nopony would notice that I'm an Alicorn, like you!"

Twilight was shocked by this. "His horn... is on your head!? And how did it get invisible!?" She asked.

"Oh, Arbmos did it for me." Derpy said.

"But, how?" Twilight asked. "Using magic to affect the horn itself is _very_ advanced! Even Princess Celestia has had trouble trying to do it herself!"

"Well, what's so bad about it?" Derpy asked.

"Well, I mean..." Twilight began. "...are you sure you can trust him? An entity that can use powerful magic... that sounds kinda shady to me."

Derpy began to wonder... what exactly was the reasoning behind all of this? Why exactly was Arbmos helping her to begin with? What was in it for him? Why did he want those books from the Canterlot Archives?

" _ENOUGH!_ " Came Arbmos' voice in Derpy's head.

Two wisps of glowing violet smoke came out of Derpy's eyes for a split second, accompanied by a deep pulse in her ears, and she let out a short shriek at it happened. She hung her head down with a hoof on her chest, panting.

"Derpy, are you okay?" Twilight asked.

"Ngh... Twilight..." Derpy said, just before her eyes glowed green, not for a moment, but constantly. She looked up at Twilight with as best of an angry glare as her crossed eyes would allow.

"...leave me alone, you nosy _brunt_!" Derpy finished.

Just as Twilight was about to berate Derpy for her behavior, the magic bind around Arbmos' invisible horn vanished, and then, Derpy vanished in a flash of crimson light.

"Gr, she teleported!" Twilight said. "There's something seriously wrong here!"

"Twilight! Twilight!" Spike said as he came running through the front door of Sugarcube Corner. "I just belched up this letter from the Princess!"

"Oh, good. Let me see it." Twilight said, taking the letter and opening it.

_Dearest Twilight,_

_I regret to interrupt you should you be attending to any important matters, but this is of utmost urgency. Last night, the Canterlot Archives were burglarized; three books were stolen from the restricted wing. The Book of Unity, the Book of Influence, and the Book of Superiority. The guards searched the premises, but found no signs of the thief. Though the investigation is still ongoing, I strongly caution you to keep a close eye out for any suspicious characters lurking around Ponyville. These three books, in the wrong hands, could prove to be devastating. Send me a letter immediately if you notice ANYTHING out of the ordinary. Do take care, and stay safe!_

_Your honorary teacher,_

_Princess Celestia._

"Uh-oh... this isn't good." Twilight said. "The Archives have been robbed!"

"So, what are you gonna be able to do about it?" Spike asked.

Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously. "Ngh... I don't want to think Derpy did it..." she uttered.

"WHAT?" Spike said. "You think _Ditzy_ broke in? She can't even put a key into a keyhole without messing up over and over!"

"Well... Derpy's been given special... abilities." Twilight said. "She's encountered Arbmos... that new spirit I've been trying to learn about."

"I'd call it obsessing over..." Spike said. "...so, do you think we should tell the Princess if that's what you think?"

"...No. Not yet." Twilight said.

"What! Why?" Spike asked. "The Princess said it was really important!"

"I need to look into this a little more, Spike! We need to know exactly what we're up against!" Twilight said. She began racking her brain. "Arbmos... Arbmos... ngh, why is this so difficult!? I can't find anything on that name!"

"Well, would you like to head back to the castle to try and look into it?" Spike asked.

"Well... first I need to fix everypony that Derpy's messed up." Twilight said, looking around Sugarcube Corner.


	7. Fall to Darkness

Arbmos, in the ethereal world within his horn, examined the three books Derpy stole from the Canterlot Archives for him.

" _Yes... yes!_ " he said to himself as he read through them. " _The Book of Influence will allow me control over everypony I decide to put under my control... the Book of Unity will get them all to follow my standards of their own will... and the Book of Superiority..._ " he began laughing to himself. " _...will give me more power than even Princess Celestia could ever hope to harness. Heh heh heh heh ha ha ha ha...!_ "

Having skimmed through the three books well enough, his thought shifted back to Derpy, who was asleep in her bed at the moment, as it was late at night.

" _And the time will come shortly, my dear..._ " Arbmos said. " _...the time when we truly cooperate, all the while bringing me back to the mortal world._ "

Meanwhile, in the real world, Arbmos' horn began to glow red, and Derpy awoke... the sclerae of her wall-eyes glowing green, and a wicked smile on her face...

(XXXX)

Twilight was up really late again. Knowing that whatever spirit was inhabiting Derpy posed what seemed to be a reasonable threat, she skimmed through every historical book she could find in the Castle of Friendship's library. Of course, she could not find a single thing on any "Arbmos". The blackboard she had in the middle of the room with "ARBMOS" in big letters had several long lines of scratched-off notes and connections.

"Okay... this is getting monotonous." Twilight complained to herself. "If I can't find anything on this Arbmos pony... who knows what would happen if we were to try going in blind at this thing..."

At that moment, Starlight Glimmer, Twilight's student, entered the room. Following behind her were the rest of the Mane Six, a few of them looking a little groggy, having been woken up by Starlight.

"Twilight," Starlight began. "you really do need to get your rest. Pondering all through the night will not get you anywhere."

"I can't! Ponyville could end up in some real deep trouble if I can't figure out who Arbmos is!" Twilight said.

Fluttershy yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Well, wouldn't it be easier just to sleep on it?" she asked. "I mean... if you want to, that is."

"It's not worth the risk, Fluttershy." Twilight said. "Imagine what this spirit could make Derpy do to all the animals around here!"

Rarity groaned. "Honestly, Twilight, you really _do_ require your beauty sleep... just as _I_ should be getting right at the moment!" she complained.

"Ooh! I got it!" Pinkie Pie, who was wide awake and hopping, interjected. "What if it's like another Discord! What if it makes..." she gasped. "...CHOCOLATE RAIN! It _needs_ to make chocolate rain!"

"I don't think so, Pinkie." Twilight said. "I can't put my hoof on it, but I could sense _really_ dark magic around Derpy... absolutely _nothing_ like Discord."

"Well, ah just wanna get this all over with, so ah can hit the hay." Applejack said. "Got lots o' apples to buck at the crack o' dawn!"

"Well, you all can go on ahead." Twilight said. "Really, you all didn't need to come over to the castle. It's best if you get your sleep. I just need to figure this out!"

Twilight walked over to the window, and stared out over Ponyville.

"If I can't do anything... Ponyville could meet its end." Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash rasped. "But _c'mon_ , Twilight! You stay up late to do all your Princess duties, and sleep until late into the morning after everypony's up and going! Seriously, Twilight, you got your whole schedule _backwards_!"

Twilight happened to look at the reflection of the name "ARBMOS" written on the blackboard just as Rainbow Dash said "backwards". Her eyes widened at what she saw.

"Wait... backwards..." Twilight said, turning around and looking at the chalkboard. "...backwards!"

" _Yeah_ , that's what I just said!" Rainbow Dash said, annoyed. "You just repeating it for _emphasis_?"

"No, look!" Twilight said, levitating the chalk to write underneath the name. "I think I just need to spell the name 'Arbmos' backwards!"

"So, what do you think you'll learn by doing that, Twilight?" Starlight asked.

"I have a hunch..." Twilight said, swallowing. "...but I just hope I could be wrong."

With that, Twilight began to write each letter of the name in reverse order, until it revealed a new, terrifyingly familiar name...

S-O-M-B-R-A

"Sombra?" Applejack said, her eyes wide. "That's the real name of the spirit?"

"But Sombra was defeated by Princess Cadence!" Rainbow Dash said. "How can it be him?"

"Well..." Twilight began nervously. "...Derpy mentioned that she found a horn. And now that I think about it... I remember that Sombra's horn was severed by Cadence's protective barrier."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Rainbow Dash said. "...if you're saying that Derpy has been hanging with King Sombra..."

Twilight looked out the window again. "...We have to find Derpy and warn her!" she said, just before rushing to the library entrance. "C'mon, everypony!"

The Mane Six all rushed with Twilight. Spike tried to run to catch up with them, and Twilight levitated him onto her back as they all ran out of the castle.

(XXXX)

Derpy was walking out into the Open Lands, her eyes glowing green and emitting a glowing purple smoke. She had an evil smile on all the while.

" _It is time for you to truly inherit my full power._ " Sombra said. " _I shall have us merge to become one and the same, so that you may use my power to its absolute potential, my dear._ "

"Yeah!" Derpy said triumphantly. "Awesome! And just those three books were enough to make you happy?"

" _Most definitely..._ " Sombra said. " _...they have given me the knowledge I will need to punish everypony who ever wronged you... and me, as well._ "

"Oh, yeah!" Derpy said. "I'm _so excited_ right now! Give it all to me! Give me your power!"

" _As you wish, my darling..._ " Sombra said.

Derpy was covered in a red glow as she began to levitate in the air. The point of Sombra's horn began to glow brightly as the horn itself became visible once again. Particles of dark red light appeared out of thin air around Derpy, and all began to converge on her, being absorbed by her.

"...Ngh...Gngh...!" Derpy strained. "...Aah...! I-It hurts...!"

Derpy's breathing began to accelerate. Her heart was hammering against her ribs. Her teeth clenched together. Her eyes shut tight as the glowing purple smoke seeped through the gap in her closed eyelids.

"...S-so much... pain...!" Derpy cried. "...I LOVE IT...!"

At that moment, Twilight and Co. all rushed over after seeing bizarre flashing... and they stopped in shock at what was happening before them.

"Oh, no!" Twilight said. "We're too late!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Derpy shouted.

There was a flash of jet-black light beams in every direction from Derpy. Once it faded, where Derpy had been was now a tall Pegasus mare with batpony wings, black hide, dark yellow mane and tail, gold eyes that now had slitlike pupils (but were still crossed) with the white parts glowing green and giving off purple glowing smoke, a terrifying smile that revealed a set of pointed teeth, and a horn that curved upwards and faded to scarlet at the tip.

"D-Derpy...!" Twilight said.

The evil mare smirked. "Derpy is dead! I have destroyed her!" she said.

Her voice was really offsetting; it was Derpy's voice, but it was layered over Sombra's voice, as if they were both speaking simultaneously from the same mouth.

The mare that was once Derpy narrowed her eyes. "Behold, for I am... Shadow Hooves!" she said in her demonic voice.


	8. Shadow Hooves

"Shadow Hooves?" Twilight asked.

"Yes!" Shadow Hooves answered in both her and Sombra's voices simultaneously. "Derpy Hooves was weak, clumsy, and foolish, so I have rightfully replaced her! I have been blessed with the awesome powers of King Sombra, rightful ruler of the Crystal Empire! It is through them that I shall achieve ultimate justice! I shall right the wrong, punish anypony who was ever irate towards me!"

"Jeez, Derpy..." Rainbow Dash said. "...you really know how to let anger get to you, huh!?"

"Because it gives me _power_! Anger, hate, and rage... all of those emotions fuel your desire for vengeance, which serves as a driving factor for power!" Shadow Hooves said.

"Okay, uh... Derpy..." Pinkie said. "...you really are a few teaspoons of baking powder short of a muffin."

"SILENCE!" Shadow Hooves thundered. "Now... time to have a little fun with the ones who put their faith into something as stupid and pointless as friendship!"

With that, Sombra's horn started to glow a malevolent yellow on top of Shadow Hooves' head, and shot a bolt of magic straight at Fluttershy. It hit her, but she simply flinched; it did not appear to do anything to her.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight said. "Are you okay?"

Fluttershy closed her eyes and hung her head down. "Ohh... I feel weird..." she said, placing a hoof on her belly.

Twilight glared at Shadow Hooves. "What did you do to her, Derpy!?" she demanded.

Shadow Hooves smirked. "Little birdie told me that Fluttershy... would like to be a _tree._ "

"What...?" Twilight uttered as her eyes went wide.

"Um... excuse me..." Fluttershy said, quietly.

The rest of the ponies looked back at Fluttershy, who was now standing on her hind legs, which appeared to be merging with the ground. Her hooves were turning into roots! And her skin started looking rugged as it became tree bark.

"EEK! G-girls... help...!" Fluttershy shrieked, trying to free her hind legs. "...I-I can't move...!"

Shadow Hooves laughed. "No matter. Once this is all over, all you will need to do is photosynthesize carbon-dioxide and water for your sustenance! Ha ha ha!" she said.

Fluttershy started growing in height quite rapidly as her front legs were forced upwards at an angle as pink leaves started to sprout from them. Her mane stood out more as it became the same leaves. Her hind legs merged together to form a singular trunk. Soon, Fluttershy's change stopped, leaving her as a large oak-ish tree, with a light yellow trunk and pink leaves, with her Cutie Mark at the base of the trunk. Her face was the only thing unchanged, but it was now made of yellow bark and a little above the two peripheral branches that had once been her forelegs.

"Oh, dear..." Fluttershy said, upon examining herself as best as she could.

"Well, ah'll be!" Applejack said angrily. "That there is some o' the most fouled-up manure ah've ever laid eyes on!"

"You don't turn ponies into trees!" Pinkie said. "That's just mean!"

Shadow Hooves chuckled. "And just what precisely do you plan to do about it?" she asked.

"Well, darling..." Rarity began. "...you will turn yourself in to Princess Celestia immediately! If not, you shall suffer even greater consequences!"

"Oh, I don't think so..." Shadow Hooves said, firing a magical bolt at Rarity. "...you _marshmallow_!"

In less than a heartbeat, Rarity's entire form was sucked into a single spot the size of a small barrel. Rarity's face was on it, as were her mane on top and tail on the back... but she had become a very soft-looking mass with her Cutie Mark on the side. Shadow Hooves had turned Rarity into a marshmallow.

"Oh my...!" Rarity said, looking at herself. "What have you done!?"

"HA HA HA HA!" Shadow Hooves laughed. "Learn to face the truth, _darling_. You are a marshmallow, which you always have been, figuratively speaking."

"NO!" Rarity said, just before bursting into tears. "I am NOT a marshmallow!"

"Ooh!" Pinkie said, hopping over to Rarity. "You look tasty!"

"P-Pinkie Pie..." Rarity began, still crying a bit. "...if you dare e-eat me... I will not hesit-tate to give you a most d-d-dreadful stomachache..."

"Oh, curious about all this, are we...?" Shadow Hooves said. "Well, why don't we give your _Cutie Mark_ a more symbolic meaning, then?"

Shadow Hooves shot a bolt of magic at Pinkie. Once the flash went out, Pinkie found that one of her hind legs was tied to a stake in the ground that Shadow Hooves conjured.

"Um..." Pinkie began. "...what does this have to do with my Cutie Mark?"

"Heh heh... just you wait for the spell to take effect." Shadow Hooves said.

Immediately after Shadow Hooves finished speaking, Pinkie's stomach started groaning and gurgling.

Pinkie placed a hoof on her front. "Huh? My tummy feels funny..." She said.

A few moments later, Pinkie's abdomen started to distend. It became so large that it pressed the ground, lifting her off her feet. Eventually, the pressure moved into her back, making it bulge outward as well, and into her limbs, making them thicker, and causing her cheeks to puff up.

As Pinkie continued to inflate, she began to rise off the ground. She would have drifted off, had it not been for the rope tethered to her leg.

"Woah...!" Pinkie said, her voice slightly muffled as her head was being sucked into her expanding body. "Now I know how a party balloon feels!"

Eventually, the gurgling sounds from Pinkie's stomach stopped along with her inflation. She was left hovering in the single spot, her body perfectly round.

"Grr..." Twilight growled. "...think about what you're doing, Derpy!"

"I _am_ very much thinking about it..." Shadow Hooves said. "...and I think it's quite _fun_!"

"Wheeeeee!" Pinkie said, spinning herself around. "She's right! This _is_ fun!"

"Hmph..." Shadow Hooves nodded. "...at least _some_ here can understand my humor."

"That's it! Ya've gone too far this time, Derpy!" Applejack said.

"Oh, you believe that you can stop me?" Shadow Hooves said.

"Oh, ya'll bet yur darn tootin' we can!" Applejack said.

"You know..." Shadow Hooves began. "...part of your name happens to be masculine. To be precise, the "jack" portion."

"Whaddya sayin'?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll makin' fun o' me?"

"Oh... in a manner of speaking." Shadow Hooves said. "So, let's make your name a little more... proper, shall we?"

Shadow Hooves fired a magical bolt at Applejack... and she became a stallion.

"Oh mah stars!" stallion Applejack said in a male voice. "Ah thought Trixie would've been the last one ta do it!"

"And now, I might as well get you, Rainbow Dash." Shadow Hooves said. "Wouldn't want to leave you out of the fun!"

Shadow Hooves shot a bolt at Rainbow Dash, who attempted to fly away, but failed. She was hit, and all of a sudden, her colors began to randomly scroll through the entire rainbow spectrum, and her eyes were brightly-lit, doing the same thing.

"W-woah...!" Rainbow Dash said. "I-I'm seein'... weird stuff! _Really_ weird stuff!"

At that moment, a light teal energy bolt zipped past Shadow Hooves' face. She looked to see that it was Starlight who shot the bolt.

"Oh, a challenger we have, hm?" Shadow Hooves said.

Starlight glared. "Derpy, it's time for you to stop! This is not who you are! Submit yourself to the powers of Harmony, and we'll get you back to the way you were!" she said.

"Oh, you're hilarious!" Shadow Hooves said. "But I'm afraid you will never get Derpy back!"

"Oh, you bet we can!" Twilight said as she stood at Starlight's side. "We did it with Nightmare Moon, and we can do it with _you_!"

"Come now..." Shadow Hooves said. "...what's the harm in some benign transfiguration spells?"

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A MARSHMALLOW!" Rarity bellowed.

"Drama Queen!" Shadow Hooves mocked.

"Um... excuse me, but..." Fluttershy began. "...I really don't want to be a tree now, and I would like to be turned back into a pony... I-I mean, if you want to, that is..."

"And ah ain't gonna steal the spotlight from Big Mac as Apple Bloom's favorite brother!" Applejack said.

"I'm done with trippin' out on all these... _colors_. Ngh, I _hate_ colors now!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Well, this is fun and all, but... I kinda feel a little... big, and tight." Pinkie commented.

"Well, that is simply too bad!" Shadow Hooves said. "I shall uncage my wrath upon Ponyville, and all of Equestria! Nopony will stop me, NOPONY! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Shadow Hoove's horn glowed for a moment, and she vanished in a bright flash.

"She's teleported!" Starlight said. "We need to catch her!"

"Wait!" Rarity said, awkwardly hopping her way over. "What about us?"

Twilight sighed. "Sorry, girls. But I'm afraid I don't know the reversion spell that will return you all to normal. Only by defeating Shadow Hooves will you all be back the way you were." she said.

"Just wait right here! Once we can reverse Derpy's corruption, you should all return to normal!" Starlight said.

"Okay..." Pinkie said, slowly rotating while still dangling upwards by her hind leg. "...not like some of us could go anywhere if we wanted."

With that, Twilight and Starlight took off, picking up Spike, who they hid in a patch of shrubbery nearby, leaving the rest of the Mane Six alone.

"Hm... well, actually..." Fluttershy began. "...it is kinda nice to just sit here. It's just so... peaceful."

"Glad _you're_ happy, Fluttershah;" Applejack said, looking at her/his now-male body and crossing her hind legs. " 'Cuz _this_ just don't feel... raht. This is just... embarassin'."

Rarity sighed. "Well _this_ is just _oh so_ mortifying..." she said.

"Oh, lighten up, girls! It's not so bad!" Pinkie said, before trying to press her abdomen. "But... this pressure really doesn't feel all that great; I feel like I might just pop! Plus, I'm starting to miss the ground!"

Rainbow Dash tried covering her lit-up eyes as both they, and the rest of her colors, were all changing.

"Ngh... I'm gonna lose it! I'm gonna freakin' _lose it_ , man!" Rainbow complained. "I can't stand these blinding colors! I still see them when my eyes are _closed_!"

They continued to vent for awhile, during which time Twilight and Starlight were hunting down Shadow Hooves...


	9. Light and Dark

Shadow Hooves went on her rampage across Ponyville. She stopped at Sugarcube Corner.

"No more baked good for _anypony_ in Ponyville!" Shadow Hooves said as her horn began to glow.

She conjured an impenetrable shield around the bakery. Mr. and Mrs. Cake rushed outside, pounding on the shield.

"Hey, let us out!" Mr. Cake pleaded.

"Derpy, lower this shield, please!" Mrs. Cake added.

Shadow Hooves smirked. "That will not happen! You're TRAPPED! Aha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

With that, Shadow Hooves left the Cakes alone and crying out for help. She passed by her house, and noticed a mailmare putting some letters into her mailbox.

The dark Alicorn scowled.

"Hey now! HEY NOW!" Shadow Hooves thundered at the mailmare. "No bills for me!"

Shadow Hooves levitated the mailmare, and conjured a magical prison force field that she remained hovering within.

"H-hey...! Derpy, let me down from here!" the mailmare said.

"No! You've brought it upon yourself!" Shadow Hooves taunted.

(XXXX)

Twilight and Starlight had made it back to Ponyville to find that Derpy had caused quite a lot of havoc. They had dropped Spike off at the castle, just so Shadow Hooves would not do anything to him.

Nearly every door and window was magically sealed, with some ponies trapped on the inside pounding on the windows, trying to break them to no avail.

"Ngh... we gotta do something!" Twilight said. "Derpy'll lay waste to Ponyville if we can't stop her!"

"Let's move a bit faster!" Starlight said.

(XXXX)

Derpy had a large crowd of ponies being held down to the ground in a red aura that immobilized them and caused them pain.

"Now... you will ALL pay for everything you have ever done to me!" Shadow Hooves declared. "You think I enjoyed being called 'wall-eyed whoopster' or 'foalbrain fodder'? You think I enjoyed taking the heat even after I offered to fix mere pony error? Well, let's see how you all enjoy your time in a dark, cold, uncomfortable prison! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"D-Derpy, please...!" a mare begged. "W-we're really sorry... about _everything_ we ever did to you!"

"We really are!" a stallion added. "P-please let us go, and we'll never d-do anything like that again—"

Shadow Hooves scoffed. "I'm afraid it's too late for sorry! You only say that because I am a threat to you all! You will all suffer what I have suffered tenfold!"

Shadow Hooves increased the intensity of the aura, causing the crowd to groan in pain.

(XXXX)

Twilight and Starlight continued to check around to see the damage that Shadow Hooves had done, and if they could help anypony involved. They had just made it to the Ponyville schoolhouse, where a bunch of school-age ponies were all gathered, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Cheerilee.

"Twahlaht!" Apple Bloom said. "Whut's goin' on?"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo said. "Why's Ditzy destroying Ponyville?"

Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head. "Well... you see, Derpy's been overtaken by power from a dark spirit. Starlight and I are gonna find her and try to free her... as long as she doesn't put up any resistance, which is quite a strong possibility."

"But you think you can get her back to normal?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Just leave it to us! You little ponies need to get inside and stay there until it's safe!" Twilight instructed.

"She's right!" Cheerilee said. "Everypony line up, single-file!"

All the colts and fillies did what Cheerilee asked, and proceeded inside the building. Apple Bloom happened to be right behind a very worried-looking Dinky Doo.

"Don't worry, Dinky." Apple Bloom said. "Ah'm sure Twahlaht will fahnd out how ta help your mom."

"What?" Dinky asked, looking back. "No! Ditzy's not my mommy!"

"She's not?" Sweetie Belle asked from behind Apple Bloom.

"No!" Dinky answered. "Why does everypony think that?"

(XXXX)

Shadow Hooves continued her wrath on Ponyville. She began to conjure black crystals at random.

"Time to build my own Crystal Empire!" Shadow Hooves said to herself. "I will avenge you, Sombra!"

"Oh, Deeeerpyyyy...!" came a voice from some distance.

Shadow Hooves looked in the distance to see...

"...Muffin!" the voice said. It was Twilight, hiding behind a building and levitating a muffin in Shadow Hooves' view.

Shadow Hooves immediately stopped her magic as her eyes went wide, and then a huge smile appeared on her face.

"MUFFIN!" Shadow Hooves said as she darted for the pastry.

Twilight quickly levitated the muffin where she wanted to lure Shadow Hooves.

"Get back here, you delicious friend!" Shadow Hooves called out.

Once she was in the proper place, Twilight and Starlight simultaneously fired magical beams at Shadow Hooves, encasing her in a force field. The dark alicorn mare looked around in shock, as she had not seen where Twilight and Starlight were hidden.

"Starlight... wait right here for a moment." Twilight instructed.

"Got it." Starlight responded.

Twilight stepped out and confronted Shadow Hooves, who made vain attempt to escape from the dome of energy.

"Derpy!" Twilight said. "It's time for you to surrender! Just let us return you to normal, and we'll let you be on your way!"

"Twilight..." Shadow Hooves began. "...why do you fear darkness? Why do you shun that half of magic all for the light? It is more powerful than you think! There is no 'good' and 'evil,' there is only 'right' and 'wrong'. _Embrace_ the darkness with open forelegs! It is _wonderful_! It can give you more power than you would ever realize!"

Twilight scowled. "Derpy... this isn't you speaking! Sombra's corrupting you! He's bewitching you!"

"Twilight..." Shadow Hooves repeated. "...if one is to fully understand magic, one must explore _all_ of its aspects! Not just the 'rainbows-and-sunshine' half of it! Join me, Twilight Sparkle, and we can become new Princesses to rule alongside Celestia and Luna! With our knowledge of the dark, Equestria could finally live in stable balance and true harmony between light and dark! We can make things the way we want them to be! Neither us nor anypony we care about will ever have to suffer again!"

Twilight pondered for a moment, but she made up her mind pretty quickly...

"...This isn't the way to do it, Derpy!" Twilight said. "You can't just go around punishing everypony for the things they did to you! Two wrongs don't make a right!"

Shadow Hooves scowled. "Suit yourself, Sparkle... you have sealed your doom!"

Shadow Hooves shot a dark-red energy beam straight at Twilight, but she was quick to react and fired a violet-colored beam right back. The two beams collided, creating a ball of pink light in between them. Both Alicorns struggled to push the other's beam back. Sweat rolled down their temples as they clenched their teeth.

"Starlight! I need your help NOW!" Twilight called over to Starlight.

Starlight quickly emerged and fired a cyan-colored beam at the collision point between Twilight and Shadow Hooves' beams. Immediately, the added power forced Shadow Hooves' beam back. No matter how hard she tried, she just could not overcome the immense power that the Unicorn added.

A look of intense fear filled Shadow Hooves' eyes. "AAAAAH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...!" she shrieked.

Twilight and Starlight's beams met Sombra's horn, and a bright flash of light occurred, forcing Twilight and Starlight to cover their eyes. Jets of black light with red halos started flying off in all directions. Once the light had died down, the two saw the normal Derpy with a silver glow around her as she levitated, unconscious, before drifting to the ground, her glow fading as she touched down.

Sombra's horn levitated down right in front of Derpy, separated from her body. There were some scorch marks on both the base of the horn, and Derpy's forehead, but Derpy otherwise appeared to be unharmed.


	10. Last Effort and Forgiveness

After Sombra's horn was separated from Derpy's head, the black crystals that Derpy conjured were dissipating as smoke, and all of the shields around the buildings vanished.

Twilight and Starlight both stood over Derpy, who made a few faint groans as she slowly opened her eyes. When she looked up and saw the Princess standing over her, a sad look appeared on Derpy's face as she started tearing up.

"T-Twilight..." Derpy said softly. "...I...I'm sorry...! I-I'm so... _sooo_... sorry!"

She kneeled with her face at Twilight's hooves, crying. Twilight brought Derpy's face up to meet her eyes, and Derpy prepared to witness the angry death-stare of the Princess... but instead, the Alicorn gave a sympathetic smile.

"It's alright, Derpy." Twilight said. "This wasn't your fault."

"It was King Sombra." Starlight said. "He was warping your mind to make you evil. You didn't choose for that to happen, did you?"

Derpy shook her head. "I-I just don't know what went wrong..."

At that moment, a group of angry ponies all walked over to the scene.

"There she is! The Demon Mare!" a Unicorn stallion said.

"Catch her and lock her up before she does any more damage!" a Pegasus mare added.

Twilight stepped in front of the group. "Stop this! Violence won't solve anything!" she demanded.

"P-please...!" Derpy begged. "I didn't mean to do any of this, I really DIDN'T! I'm s-sorry...!"

" 'Didn't mean to'? As if!" one mare shouted. "You know what you did, trapping me in that shop! You even _laughed_!"

"And I still can't believe you turned me into a statue!" a stallion accused Derpy. "I was afraid I would sit there forever, never able to move again!"

"Enough!" Twilight shouted over the crowd. "Derpy apologized! The least you all can do is forgive her!"

"You know what? NO!" A mare shouted. "After all _that_ , she doesn't deserve to be forgiven!"

"She could've killed us all!" A stallion added.

"Why are you defending her!?" Another mare shouted.

Twilight scowled. "Because it was NOT her fault! Not directly, at least."

"What do you mean 'it was not her fault'? She knows what she did!" a pony at the front of the group said.

"The thing is... Sombra was promising Derpy that he would help her fix her situation." Twilight said. "He took advantage of her predicament to easily trick her into doing what he wanted. Given how desperate she was, it was guaranteed to work! And once he merged his horn with Derpy, Sombra began to use her body as a vessel, manipulating her thoughts, and making us appear bad while making himself appear good to Derpy."

"So you see," Starlight said. "Derpy never wanted to cause any harm to Ponyville or Equestria... she was just turning to somepony because she needed help, and she just didn't know it was the wrong pony!"

The rest of the Mane Six, now back to their normal selves, caught up with Twilight and Starlight.

"Twilight! Where's Derpy?" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!"

"Oh yes, most certainly!" Rarity said. "This absurdity that she has delivered upon us is most despicable! I believe she must be punished most accordingly!"

"Finally, somepony who understands!" some random pony in the crowd said.

The rest of the crowd all gave comments in agreement. However, Doctor Whooves quickly stepped forward, as did Dinky Doo.

"Now, see here!" Doctor Whooves interjected. "Derpy has no fault in any of this! It was not her own thought to concoct such vile schemes! It was the darkness of that malevolent horn... it was controlling her mind!"

"Yeah!" Dinky said. "My cousin Ditzy wouldn't hurt a horsefly!"

"Cousin!?" Pinkie said, surprised. "Derpy, I always thought you were Dinky's mother!"

Derpy looked surprised herself. "No! I'm only twenty-three! I'm still single! What makes you think Dinky was my daughter?"

"Well... you two look a lot alike." Pinkie said.

"In any case..." Doctor Whooves continued. "...I ask that all of you not blame Derpy, but rather the spirit of Crystal King Sombra, for the misfortunes that have happened to you."

"Oh, like it's just _that simple_." a pony said. "We nearly got laid waste to! It's gonna take something really _big_ to get me to have _any_ level of trust that she's still not under Sombra's control!"

"Enough!" Twilight said. "The horn is off of Derpy. It's over now. He has no more hold over her mind. I think all of you need to take some time to think about how things will pan out from here..."

Sombra's horn began to glow right behind Twilight as she continued to speak, and some strange, glowing red smoke was coming from it. It appeared to be hovering behind the Alicorn.

"Uh, Twilight..." Rainbow Dash said.

"What?" Twilight asked, oblivious just before the smoke flew into both of her ears.

Ceasing her speech, Twilight gasped and looked surprised as the glowing smoke entered her ears. After the glowing smoke was in her head, everypony could still see the glow of where it was inside of her, and it converged on a single spot in the middle of her throat. After the glowing red spot in her throat went out, Twilight fell to the ground with her forehooves at her neck, and started making hoarse, struggling breaths. It seemed like whatever Sombra's horn did, it was trying to stop Twilight from breathing.

Sombra was making a final, desperate attempt to exact his revenge on his mortal enemy's sister-in-law.

"Oh no! Twilight!" Starlight said, rushing over to her teacher. "She's choking!"

"Oh, dear! We must do something, posthaste!" Rarity said.

"It's King Sombrero's horn!" Derpy said. "I gotta get it away from her!"

Derpy quickly picked up the horn, and tried to carry it away whilst flying. But all of a sudden, the horn encased her in a red aura that immobilized her in midair.

" _Now Derpy... must it really be this way that all must transpire?_ " Sombra's voice said in Derpy's head.

"Sombrero!" Derpy said.

" _It is_ Sombra _, my dear._ " Sombra corrected her. " _And I feel like you have just let yourself out of a great opportunity. You had power... why are you throwing it away?_ "

"Because it's not what I wanted! I wanted everypony to respect me! Not with power, but just for who I am!" Derpy argued.

" _Now Derpy Hooves... I suggest you put my horn back atop your cranium right this instant!_ " Sombra demanded. " _Or Twilight Sparkle shall never draw another breath!_ "

"Derpy, hurry up!" Rainbow Dash said. "You gotta find out how to get out of that force field, fast! Twilight's face is _dark blue_!"

Derpy could still hear Twilight struggling to breathe.

" _I shall provide mobility of your forehoof in an upward motion, and you would do well to use it for replacing my horn on your head! And be quick, as your Princess of Friendship shall shortly asphyxiate!_ " Sombra said.

The red glow around Derpy's right-hoof foreleg went out, and she could move it... but only upward. She only had two options: rejoin with Sombra... or let Twilight die. Neither option seemed viable. The only real way this could be done was to get the horn out of Twilight's proximity.

"Okay... I've made up my mind." Derpy said.

" _Good..._ " Sombra said. " _...now put my horn back on your forehead where it now belongs._ "

Derpy closed her eyes and held her breath.

"...NO!" the Pegasus said, using the upward motion she was restricted to in order to lob the horn some distance away.

She hoped that it could land far enough away... and she was right.

The red light that imprisoned Derpy in midair slipped off of her, and Twilight started taking heavy gasps to regain her breath. Glowing streams of crimson smoke emerged out of the Alicorn's mouth and ears, merging with the same field of red light that encased Derpy. It remained in midair for a brief moment, and then vanished.

"Woah... that was close!" Pinkie said.

"Oh, yes..." Fluttershy added. "...that was very scary!"

Starlight helped Twilight stand back up.

"I thought that was it for me..." Twilight said. "...that has to be one of the worst ways to die."

Doctor Whooves cleared his throat, capturing the attention of the crowd. "So, now do you see? Derpy does not want to cause any harm! All she desires is respect for her efforts! She's a flawed pony just like me, you, and anyone for that matter!" he said.

Derpy nodded vigorously. "Yeah! I didn't want any of this to happen! Sombra was messing with my mind! But I got rid of him with the help of Twilight! You all believe me, don't you?" she asked.

The crowd mumbled among each other for a moment, before a few began to speak.

"Well... if you decided to make yourself powerful once again, all just to mess with us..." one pony said. "...then yes, we probably wouldn't have forgiven you."

"We thought you would put the horn back on your head! But discarding it was enough to convince me that you're not a bad pony!" another pony said.

"I'd say we should give Derpy another chance!"

"Yeah! So what if she's made a few mistakes? Haven't we all?"

"Well, she might not be very... coordinated. But I'm sure she's good at heart."

Twilight stepped up to Derpy, along with the rest of the Mane Six.

"And Derpy, just know that we're all ponies. We make mistakes." Twilight said. "There were times when I neglected some vital parts of my studies in place of the fine details, and when I felt guilty about it, Princess Celestia explained that mistakes are a part of learning."

Starlight was next to speak: "And Derpy, I too made the mistake of believing that absolute equality was the only surefire way to create a perfect society. I learned that lesson the hard way... but Twilight helped to steer me on the right track."

Derpy began to lighten up a bit.

"Believe it or not, Derpy, I've made a lot of mistakes myself." Rainbow Dash admitted. "Flight school was one thing that I was good at... but when it came to real school, that was another story. I did _horrible_ on a lot of my tests. I was even suspended for two days after getting into a fight with some of the other school ponies."

"And, um, also, Derpy..." Fluttershy said. "...I wasn't good at flight school when I was little. I was a weak flyer, and I couldn't pass the physical tests. But one day, I happened to fall from Cloudsdale to see the world below... and ever since then, I started visiting the ground more often... even if hovering to and from Cloudsdale took a while... and eventually bought my cottage."

"And ah made quite a slew of mistakes mahself growin' up!" Applejack said. "Ah would sometahmes buck improperly and hurt mahself, and ah would sometahmes misposition the basket and wind up with a lot of bruised, dirty apples on the ground."

"And then there was my job at Sugarcube Corner when I came to Ponyville." Pinkie said, falling from her bubbly mood. "There were times that I messed up orders and had the wrong baked goods delivered to the wrong ponies, and I've spilled and wasted a _lot_ of ingredients and made a _ton_ of messes over the years... even to this day."

Rarity sighed in regret. "And I, too, I hate to admit, have had my moments of misfortune, Ditzy. I had shipped out the wrong orders, much like Pinkie Pie, misaligned my sewing patterns, neglected to use softener or starch, depending on the case, and countless times, I have misjudged dimensions of some dresses, resulting in different size portions of each dress being made into a single dress... I sometimes do not even notice my mistakes until it is too late."

Derpy was completely surprised by the confessions of the Mane Six.

"Y-you mean..." Derpy began. "...I'm not a-alone in this...?"

"Of course not, Derpy!" Twilight said. "There is nothing wrong with you! I just get the feeling that everypony's being too quick to judge you."

Twilight turned to the crowd of Ponyville denizens.

"...Isn't that right?" the Alicorn asked.

The ponies all began to look fairly on-the-spot by this question.

"...Um... well... see..."

"...th-that is... uh..."

"...we just thought... y'know..."

"Just thought _what_?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Derpy doesn't deserve to be treated the way you've been treating her! So what if she's a bit clumsy? So what if she has crossed eyes? She's a good pony! I know this because we went to flight school together, and, like with Fluttershy, I stopped bullies from picking on her!"

"Rainbow Dash is most certainly correct!" Doctor Whooves said. "I do believe that you all owe a sincere, heartfelt apology to Derpy!"

"Yeah! My cousin's had enough! Tell her that you're sorry!" Dinky added.

All of the ponies briefly whispered to each other, before taking a simultaneous breath. "We're sorry, Derpy." they all said at once.

Derpy smiled. "It's okay." she said.

"No, it's NOT okay..." came the voice of Captain Express as he stepped forward. "...Ditzy. I was being completely unfair with you when I put you on suspension. I overreacted. I should've known that, after all... things happen. I did not know that you were under a lot of pressure as it was, and I only added to it."

"Oh, Captain!" Derpy said. "You don't need to—"

"Let me finish." Captain Express said. "I would also like to give you back your job, and I'll expunge your suspension. It's really the only way that I can truly apologize for what has happened."

"Oh, thank you!" Derpy said. "Thank you so much!"

"And Ditzy..." Parcel Post said as he approached. "...I myself am sorry for being so insensitive towards you. I did not know that you were being bullied by many others, and I also let my own prejudice get the best of me."

Derpy started to tear up in joy. She was absolutely convinced that she would never see this day. Everypony was finally apologizing to her! They finally accepted her!

"So, now that all's well and good..." Pinkie said, just before she pulled her party cannon out of nowhere and fired it. "...LET'S HAVE US A CELEBRATION!"


	11. Acceptance Celebration

Twilight quickly disposed of Sombra's horn by shooting it off far away from Ponyville into Everfree Forest. Afterwards, Pinkie Pie had (almost immediately) set up a party to celebrate Derpy's acceptance that she had been denied for so long.

Derpy got to pick the song for the musical number of the celebration. Her selection, although a bit quirky, was still something that everypony found to be quite fun and humorous.

" **Don't Stare at the Sun"** by Bad Lip Reading begins... **with the lyrics altered to fit the nature of Equestria.**

All of the Ponyville residents were participating in a town-wide choreographed dance, one of which they had actually been rehearsing for special occasions such as this. Derpy was the first to start the vocals whilst dancing among the other ponies.

**_[Derpy:]_ **   
**Every now and then I feel like scratching**   
**With both of my hooves, "Hey! Howdy, you!"**

**_[Everyone:]_  
Yeah, yeah!**

**_[Derpy:]_ **   
**But all I really need are apples and lasagna**   
**Before I go to bed!**

_**[Golden Harvest:]** _

**C'mere, you!  
**

Golden Harvest playfully put Derpy in a headlock and rubbed her head, making Derpy laugh a bit before they broke off and Derpy continued singing the solo:

**_[Derpy:]_ **   
**I have a vacant stare, I'm like a robot**   
**that's got hollow lungs**

**_[Mares:]_  
I bet your hooves are strong!**

**_[Derpy:]_ **   
**With soft hide engineered to feel mare-like**   
**I'd stay forever young, yeah!**

Then, everypony started to make identical dance motions whilst joining for the chorus:

**_[Everyone:]_ **   
**WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**   
**Wonder why no one that we know blows chunks every day and night**   
**WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**   
**And don't stare into the sun or else your eyes will burn and drip some goo-ooo**   
**And burn out**   
**Can't look at the sun or else your eyes will burn out**   
**Can't stare at the sun!**

**_[Derpy:]_  
Come on, let's have some fun!**

**_[Everyone:]_  
Don't stare at the sun!**

Right as the bridge began, Lyra Heartstrings took the transition, dancing upright on only her hind legs (everypony wondered why she liked doing things upright, be it standing or sitting).

**_[Lyra Heartstrings:]_ **   
**In another world, we have Daryl, Daryl the Human**   
**And he's been waiting for a gifted young stead, ha ha ha!**   
**Yeah, you could not pick a human that is better than**   
**Daryl the Human of Love!**

**_[Everyone:]_ **   
**WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**   
**Wonder why no one that we know blows chunks every day and night**   
**WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**   
**Why don't we check out all these socks and then check me out while I dance and go**

Everypony then changed up their dance variation, but still following each other.

**_[Derpy:]_ **   
**Wow! Yeah! Yes! Okay!**   
**Now we're dancing the donk-diddy-donkey**   
**Why'd you insist on kissing that clown?**   
**Don't say goodbye or sayonara**

**_[Everyone:]_  
All the leeches love me!**

**_[Derpy:]_  
We're so glad to be here**

**_[Everyone:]_ **   
**Plinko waddy-waddy choo-wa diggin that soul**   
**Round and round we go!**

**This is a dance we practiced in the square**   
**Plinko waddy-waddy choo-wa diggin that soul**   
**There's no way it could have been spontaneous**   
**Plinko waddy-waddy choo-wa diggin that soul**

**_*MEOW*_ **

**_[Rarity:]_  
It's Opal!**

**_[Derpy:]_  
I'm running weird!**

For the next part, the Mane Six, Doctor Whooves, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Dinky Doo all took the front line with Derpy, standing upright and hooking their forelegs together while dancing.

 ** _[Everyone:]_**  
 **WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**  
 **I'm feeling no old-timey ghosts will be floating up on the ceilings**  
 **WA-HA, DA-DING-DING, CHOO-CHOO, HEY HAW**  
 **And don't stare into the sun or else your eyes will burn and drip some goo-ooo**  
 **And burn out**  
 **Can't look at the sun or else your eyes will burn out**  
 **Can't stare at the sun!**  
 **Wooooaaahh**  
**Don't stare at the sun!**

The party continued well into the night, everypony ate and drank and danced until the early hours of the morning...

(XXXX)

Somewhere deep in the uncharted regions of Everfree Forest, Sombra's spirit still lived on in the dormant horn. Although lacking actual power, Sombra was enraged, and he would most definitely uncage his wrath at the next chance he got.

" _Just you wait, ponies of Equestria..._ " Sombra said to himself. " _...I shall one day return to my full power and true form, and I shall make Equestria—no,_ all _of the planet Equus my own! All shall suffer punishment so rightfully in place of their actions! And until then... I shall read through the books that Derpy was ever so kind as to fetch for me... they hold secrets to_ immense _levels of power! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!_ "


End file.
